Trenton, NJ — U.S. regulators on Tuesday approved a new diabetes drug that reduces blood sugar levels and also helps people lose significant weight.
Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk said the Food and Drug Administration approved its once-a-week shot for people with Type 2 diabetes.
The drug, Ozempic, also known as semaglutide, works by stimulating the body’s own insulin production and reducing appetite.
In one big company-funded study, Ozempic, on average, reduced long-term blood sugar levels at least 2 ½ times as much as a popular daily diabetes pill, Merck & Co.’s Januvia.
It also helped study participants lose two to three times as much weight as those in the comparison group.
Over 56 weeks, patients who got a lower dose of Ozempic lost an average of 9.5 pounds while those who got a higher dose lost 13.5 pounds.
The patients who took Januvia lost an average of 4 pounds.
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